January 7, 2004 - What We Lose When We Are Too Busy To Look
Well, it has been a while since I ranted - mostly because I have been so busy working these days that I do not have time to rant - which kind of leads me on to the basis for this rant. Apathy - where does it come from, how do we come to accept it, and how can we get rid of it.
We all pretty much agree that we live in a great country. The personal liberties and freedoms we take for granted are pretty much amazing to most folks who are not raised in the US. Native-born folks, on the other hand, pretty much take our rights and civil liberties for granted. Or we are just too damn busy or lazy to take a good look at what is going on around us. Each of us seems to be so busy working, or working, or well, working, that we fail to look up from our computer monitors, ledger books, or lesson plans to really assess what is going on all around us. Take a gander, just one, and you will be scared into action.
First, all I have to say is 4 more years of George Bush. OK - did you just feel a shiver go down your spine, or is it just me? I cannot believe it, but Republican commentators are comparing George to Winston Churchill - talking about his boldness and political courage. I think that comparison may result in a defamation suit by any surviving members of the Churchill family. I don't think George Bush is a particularly bad guy, I just think he is to a great extent clueless as to the long term consequences of his policies. In such a context, bold and having political courage may not be exactly a good thing. The current tax cuts promulgated by this Administration are compromising our fiscal strength future ability to govern, while burying both the state and federal government in a sea of red ink. Our current foreign policy is pulling us into more and more conflict in which we are rightfully perceived as the aggressor, while alienating long-held allies. Add to this equation the fact that there does not seem to be any long-term planning other than "regime change" and, well, you have the Bush Administration's foreign policy. You know that according to Pat Robertson, God spoke and told him that George Bush is going to win in a landslide come November? Well, I don't know if Robertson and I pray to the same deity, but, in a phrase . . . God Help Us.
Speaking of God, I cannot help by bring up the second and perhaps even larger evil oozing out of this Administration: John Ashcroft, our Attorney Genera and his bastard child otherwise known as the USA Patriot Act. Step right up folks, come one come all, leave your civil liberties behind, and I will protect you all from the unknown evil. John Ashcroft is using the Justice Department and the USA Patriot Act to undermine our civil rights and liberties in the name of protecting our freedom all in the guise of Patriotism – and that is Patriotism with a big “P” – because you are either with us, or against us. If you really think that this nation is safer and better off when intolerance is king and accountability is cloaked under the guise of national security, then stop reading right now – you need not waste any more of your time. Still reading? Good. Here is something I never thought I would ever have to consider in my lifetime: you do not know how many times I thank my lucky stars that I am not an Arab male living in this country. If I were, I often wonder whether my rants would result in me being jailed, denied my constitutional rights, refused access to a lawyer, and labeled an "enemy combatant." I guess that when push comes to shove, and the chips are down, this Justice Department thinks that it is OK to undermine our constitution in order to save it. Isn't that kind of like offering to cut a baby in half when two mothers are fighting over it? You would think we learned during WWII that you cannot categorize a whole race of folks based upon the actions of a few. Apparently we have not. The USA Patriot Act is very scary. Don’t trust me? Check out this link discussing some of the "progress" being made in the fight for our freedom: http://www.aclu.org/SafeandFree/SafeandFree.cfm?ID=11137&c=206.
Let's recap on some of the key provisions of the USA Patriot Act:
· FREEDOM OF ASSOCIATION: the government may monitor religious labor and political institutions without suspecting criminal activity to assist in a terror investigation.
· FREEDOM OF INFORMATION: the government has been allowed to close once-public immigration hearings, while detaining hundreds, if not thousands of people without charges.
· FREEDOM OF SPEECH: the government can prosecute librarians or other record keepers if they let you know that your personal and private information has been subpoenaed by the government in relation to a terror investigation.
· RIGHT TO AN ATTORNEY: goodbye attorney/client privilege. The Government may monitor federal prison jailhouse conversations between attorneys and clients, and deny those accused of crimes under the act access to lawyers.
· FREEDOM FROM UNREASONABLE SEARCHES: probable cause . . . we don't need no stinking probable cause. Now the government may search and seize your personal and business records, as well as your telephone/internet activity without probable cause to assist in a terror investigation.
· RIGHT TO A SPEEDY, PUBLIC, AND FAIR TRIAL: the government to jail individuals indefinitely without a trial, you don't even have to be charged, and you do not have the right to confront the witnesses against you.
You want to know what is even scarier - Ashcroft thinks that this is not enough: he wants more, to further expand the Patriot Act to grant the government additional powers. And I am not talking small stuff - big scary stuff: "Patriot II" is pretty damn scary: http://writ.corporate.findlaw.com/scripts/printer_friendly.pl?page=/ramasastry/20030217.html
While all of this has gone on, many of have sat on our hand, mute, saying nothing. We look at folks of foreign descent, and think, well, maybe they are guilty, who knows, they are not really Americans anyway. Not to be too dramatic, but all of this makes me think of a postcard I saw when I visited the Holocaust Museum. It basically warns us all about the consequences of political apathy and succumbing to fear mongering:
First They Came for the Jews
First they came for the Jews
and I did not speak out
because I was not a Jew.
Then they came for the Communists
and I did not speak out
because I was not a Communist.
Then they came for the trade unionists
and I did not speak out
because I was not a trade unionist.
Then they came for me
and there was no one left
to speak out for me.
-Pastor Martin Niemöller
20 years from now, I do not want a new verse of this poem to start with "First they came for the Arabs." Our current government is using the laws and powers granted to it under the USA Patriot Act to circumvent all of our constitutional rights, not some person over there with an accent. There is a need for national security, and there is a need to find and restrain those who would hurt this country or its citizens. But, there are limits to what we can do, and how far we can go, while still maintaining the vestiges of a free society. This is your country, and this is your government: you are ultimately responsible for its actions. You need to let this Administration know that its actions are not OK - that you do not accept the proposition that we must loose ourselves to save ourselves. You have no choice. If you sit by and do nothing, there may be no one left to speak out for you when they come.